Monday, May 10, 2010

Marvel Star Wars (Kind of)

In watching Iron Man 2 this past weekend, my mind couldn't help but wander (as if often does), into the realm of crossover and adaptation into the Star Wars universe. I indulge myself in these little creative exercises from time to time, even though I know I am likely to NEVER 'use' any of it in my gaming. It is just fun for me—and hopefully has some interest for other folks as well. So, anyway, here we go:

The Avengers, Star Wars Style:

Iron Man:

Tony Stark is the genius inheritor of a high-tech weapons development firm. His family rose to prominence making weapons for the Old Republic military—most notably during the Clone Wars. For the sake of dramatic license, we could even say that much of the Clone-trooper armor designs were Stark designs. During the rise of the Empire, Tony's father served the Empire, but quickly came to realize it for what it was. He was conflicted by wanting to keep his family safe and to 'work within the system' to stop the growing tyranny of the Empire. His idealism eventually put him at odds with his partner, Obadiah Stane, who quietly had the Senior Stark bumped off and insinuated himself into the Junior Stark's life—raising him to be the primary developer of military equipment for the company (and its various clients—the Empire, as well as various corporate powers and shady organizations kept out of the public eye).

Tony's narcissistic lifestyle is abruptly interrupted by an attempt on his life—ostensibly by a band of 'rebels', but actually, they're terrorists, masquerading as rebels (and secretly hired by Stane to bump off Stark). Instead of killing Tony, however, they keep him and force him to build weapons for them. Assisted by a fellow prisoner (who is affiliated with the REAL Rebellion), Tony builds a revolutionary suit of armor and escapes. In the process, the Rebel is killed, but not before Tony learns a thing or two about the real situation in the Galaxy—and his part in it.

From here, Tony returns, determined to do good. His goals conflict with those of Stane, and eventually, the two have it out, pitting suits of armor against one another. Tony wins, with the assistance of a Rebel cell calling itself 'SHIELD'. He manages to cover up the whole incident and prevent the Empire from getting its hands on the prototype by sabotaging the plans for his own designs and stating publicly that the prototype has been stolen.

In his power armor, this 'Iron Man', takes up arms against the Empire while Stark continues his seemingly hedonistic lifestyle. Behind the scenes, Tony becomes a supporter of the Rebellion and works to slow production of war materiel to the Empire—though it seems only a matter of time before someone in the Empire sees through this charade...

Game-wise, the Iron Man armor would have to be toned down a bit in just about all areas. But in trained hands, even 'toned down' armor could do a lot of damage fighting a geurilla/commando style war. I picture the armor as +3D power-armor, capable of flight (though perhaps not supersonic) and equipped with many high-tech weapons and gadgets.

The Hulk

This is a relatively easy conversion. Dr. Banner is working for the Empire on gamma-ray experiments. This could be for a number of reasons, but the end result is Banner's exposure to this energy and mutation. Unlike the comic book Hulk, I don't see the Star Wars Banner being able to switch back and forth between forms (I do not like the sudden gain and loss of mass—it just pushes believability past even MY expansive boundaries). Being big and green isn't as big of a deal in the Star Wars Universe as it is in the real world, however. The hulk could pretend to be an alien of this or that species.

The Empire, of course, wants to find him and duplicate the formula to create more super-weapons like the Hulk. Banner lives in hiding, trying to develop an antidote. His intellect would largely be intact, but stress and anger can and does reduce him to mindless rage—often destroying whatever 'cover' he has established and any progress he has made on a cure. With the Empire chasing him, stress and anger are a common thing. Thus, Banner is always on the move—but often finds himself helping others on his journeys.

Again, game-wise, the Hulk would have to be toned down a LOT. No, he can't leap for miles. No, he can't bench press-tanks. I figure he'd have around a 7D strength—which is impressive, but not overpowering.

"Captain Republic"

During the early stages of the Clone Wars, a brilliant scientist devised a serum that would turn an ordinary being into a physically perfect representation of his species. Only one test subject was ever given the serum, however, for Separatist agents attacked the facility during the test- killing the doctor and destroying his notes (secretly, Palpatine set up this attack—he did not want 'normal' soldiers made 'super', he wanted his easily controllable clones). The test subject survived, however, and was indeed physically perfect. He was transferred to Republic special operations, where he earned an incredibly distinguished record in various black-ops missions throughout the war. Though never publicly acknowledge, he soon gained a reputation among the soldiers of the republic—representing its highest ideals through his acts of heroism and belief in the cause. 'Captain Republic' became the slang name for this otherwise un-named soldier.

Unfortunately, it was this idealism that made the Captain a liability to Palpatine. Such a person made a much better hero dead than alive. So it was that on his last mission of the war, the Captain was evidently killed when the ship he was on exploded in the midst of combat. But unknown to all, the Captain didn't die. Through a fluke accident, his body was actually put into a state of suspended animation onboard the derelict piece of ship that survived the explosion. It was twenty years before Cap was discovered—found by an old friend of his, Nick Fury, a republic soldier Cap had served with during the war. Having just woken up to a seeming nightmare world, Cap is now dedicating himself to restoring the Republic.

Game-wise, Cap is a pretty easy integration—though perhaps somewhat 'bogus' as far as a PC goes: He'd likely have 4Ds across the board, or perhaps in everything except intelligence, which would be around 3D. As far as his gear goes, the Shield could be a high-tech remnant of the gear he was provided during the clone wars—now emblazoned with the insignia of the Rebel Alliance. It could function as a melee weapon versus hand-to-hand attacks and as cover versus ranged... and as a thrown weapon when needed (with a built in homing system that returns it to its thrower).

Thor

On the remote world of "Valhalla", Thor was a member of the elite, Force-using ruling class. Being a relatively low-tech world (or at least one without space flight), "Valhalla" was unknown to the galaxy at large—that is until the first Imperial scouts arrived. Thor's brother, Loki, quickly ingratiated himself with these newcomers and the Empire in turn used him to topple the rule of Thor's family—most of whom were slain or imprisoned (with the thought as to turning them to the dark side). Thor managed to escape and now seeks to regain control of his world from Loki—though he sees now this can only be accomplished through destroying the Empire.

Game-wise, Thor would have normal human-range stats—though I could see him having perhaps an exceptional 5D in strength. He would have Force powers, but would likely be trained in more physical applications such as leaping and speed and a focus on combat with his chosen weapon, a high-tech energy-hammer. This latter could function as a lightsaber, able to deflect incoming ranged attacks. It would be easy enough for Thor to utilize Force-lightning as well—though this would be treading close to the dark-side, depending upon how he used it.

Wasp

I take a bit more liberties with this concept than I do the others. First of all, I never much cared for 'Ant-Man', or even 'Giant-Man'. Secondly, When you have two folks with the same powers, one just kind of becomes redundant. Thus, I would combine Ant-Man and wasp into one character. Unfortunately, the whole 'shrinking' thing really pings my believability-meter. Even if you could explain away such technology, I really wouldn't want it to become a 'common' thing in my Star Wars setting. Therefore, I offer an alternate version of the Wasp, without this shrinking power.

The Wasp comes from an insectoid species—though one with a decidedly humanoid appearance (save for antennae, compound eyes and dragonfly-like wings). She was a member of a rich family of her species, leading a life of luxury until the Empire conquered her planet. At this point, she struck back—becoming both a thief and assassin, utilizing her natural ability of flight to its fullest potential (though humanoid in appearance, her bones are incredibly lightweight). She now roams the galaxy, striking whenever and wherever she can against the empire. Her own impetuous nature often gets her into trouble, however.

Game-wise, the Wasp would be very quick (high dex and agility) and perceptive, but not terribly tough (low strength). She would also be capable of flight and would be well armed with a variety of blaster weapons.

These would form the core of my Star Wars Avengers—the 'founding members'. But more could easily be incorporated:

Hawkeye: A soldier with a shady past, specializing in high-tech archery and gadgets.

Scarlet Witch: A Force using Dathomiran witch with a penchant for revealing, red clothing.

Quicksilver: A swoop-racer and pilot with a love for speed.

Black Panther: The errant king of a jungle planet—nearly as physically perfect as Cap himself.